Correia leaves early as Pirates top Rays 10-3

BRADENTON, Fla. – Right-hander Kevin Correia was a little too excited Sunday in his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Correia, the Pirates' biggest offseason acquisition, made an early exit in a 10-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was scheduled to work two innings, but lasted just 1 1-3 innings after allowing two runs on two hits and two walks.

"I don't mind the results," Correia said. "The first outing, you get that adrenaline rush. I was overthrowing, my stride got too long and everything flattened out."

In December, the 30-year-old Correia signed a two-year, $8 million contract. He pitched parts of six seasons with the San Francisco Giants and spent the past two years with the San Diego Padres.

Correia is used to having a rough outing at the start of spring training.

"It seems like I do it every year," he said. "I get mad and say I'm not going to do it again. I'm not nervous or anything. You just get that adrenaline rush you haven't had in months, and it gets you."

James Shields pitched one inning for Tampa Bay. The righty allowed one hit, a two-out, solo home run by Andrew McCutchen.

"One bad pitch, that's about it," Shields said. "I felt good out there. I was in command of most of my pitches. I just left that one out over the plate too much."

McCutchen went 3 for 3, scored three runs, got two RBI and stole a base. He left the game after five innings, ending up only a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

"It doesn't count yet," McCutchen said, smiling. "I'm trying to save it."

It was the second game in a row that Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and McCutchen hit 1-2-3 in the Pirates' batting order. But manager Clint Hurdle said that is only one possible lineup combination this season.

"It's one of many," Hurdle said. "We all pretty much understand what Andrew can do at the top of the lineup. We need to look at what we can do to stretch our lineup to become more diverse and dynamic. We need to score more runs than we did last year. I believe he has the skills to hit third. We'll see how it plays out."

Over his first two years in the majors, McCutchen hit .283 in 190 games when batting first in the order. He's a .302 hitter in 53 games in the third spot.

Notes: Pirates reliever Joe Beimel was a late scratch due to minor soreness in his left elbow. He is day to day. ... Rays manager Joe Maddon said Manny Ramirez will start in left field Monday against the Pirates. Ramirez was signed primarily as a designated hitter, but also will spell Johnny Damon in the outfield. ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson (strained hamstring) threw a 32-pitch bullpen session Sunday without incident. He's been out since Feb. 17. ... Pirates reliever Evan Meek (strained calf) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday without problem. He will throw off the mound again Tuesday.